


How To Be Awesome

by MapleKomori



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Awkward Romance, Drinking, Kumajiro is annoying, M/M, Nation names used, prucan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-18
Packaged: 2018-03-05 02:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3101465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MapleKomori/pseuds/MapleKomori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Canada can't handle being ignored any longer, he gets the bombastic Prussia to teach him how to stand out. However, as the two get to know each other better, each realizes that the other's company is the only thing they've been missing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The mirror hardly bothered to show Canada his reflection.  With a deep breath, Canada glared at the one unruly curl that spiralled awkwardly from the side of his head and wished his genetic inheritance from France had been just a bit smoother.  He reached for his hair gel.  
  
“Empty?” he said aloud.  “But it was more than half full yesterday.”  
  
That was when Canada remembered America’s voice through the bathroom door, earlier that day.  
  
 _Look out, bro!  I’m borrowing some of your stuff.  I’m sure you won’t mind._  
  
Canada sighed and muttered a few words of resentment.  He told himself to forget about the hair gel for now.  Instead, he sprayed on a tiny amount of cologne - the maple-scented one that America tended not to borrow - and straightened out his clothes one more time.  
  
“Maybe I should get her flowers,” Canada mused.  “What do you think, Kuma-jelly?”  
  
The white bear in question was nowhere to be found, and Canada told himself that perhaps that was for the better.  He checked himself over one last time - phone, keys, wallet - and headed for the door.  Deep in thought over how to phrase the question, Canada didn’t notice the pile of hamburger wrappers that lay in his path.  He tripped, hitting the floor hard and collecting a grease stain on his good jeans.  
  
“America!” Canada yelled.  He only felt comfortable doing so, of course, because America wasn’t home.  Sighing one more time, Canada climbed to his feet.  He opened the front door and called over his shoulder for his white bear to watch over the house.  Not receiving a response, nor expecting one, Canada made his way along the sunny street to Taiwan’s house.  
  
*******  
  
Soon, Canada rounded the corner and Taiwan’s house came into view.  Although the surroundings were cheerful with sunlight and bird songs, Canada couldn’t shake the nervous feeling slithering in his stomach.  He quickened his pace, trying to burn the superfluous energy, and with each step he practiced his words.  
  
“Taiwan, would you like to go out with me?  Lovely day, isn’t it, Taiwan?  Say, Taiwan, if you’re not busy this weekend, how would you like to - OH, MAPLE!”  
  
Canada couldn’t believe his eyes.  Standing just outside the house were Taiwan and America.  Even though Canada was too far away to hear what they were saying, their body language said it all.  Taiwan stared adoringly into America’s eyes, looking away only to giggle or brush aside a stray lock of hair.  Drinking it all in, America stood with one hand resting on the side of the house, leaning against it and nodding as he spoke.  At all times, his face sparkled with a confident smile.  
  
As if compelled, Canada marched forward.  Gone was his repeating track of small talk for Taiwan.  It had been replaced by a new speech that hardly required rehearsal, because each burning word had been forged by years of repressed rage.  He reached the pair and clapped his hand down heavily on his brother’s shoulder.  
  
“Dammit, America, what do you think you’re doing?”  
  
America turned around and grinned, seemingly oblivious to Canada’s anger.  
  
“Oh, hey, bro,” he said.  “What’s up?”  
  
Panting on the spot, Canada was unable to get a word out.  A thousand threats and insults swirled in his brain, but none of them could lock onto his voice.  
  
“How dare you?” he finally managed.  “Don’t you know that - ?  How many times have I - ?  Have you no consideration for - ?”  
  
It was at that moment that Canada realized Taiwan was staring at him.  He cringed with embarrassment and muttered an apology.  
  
“Hoo boy,” America said with a laugh.  “Canada, we need to find you a girlfriend.  Stat.”  
  
Taiwan patted Canada on the arm.  
  
“After my date with America,” she said, “I’m going to meet Vietnam.  If you want, I can ask her if she’s interested.”  
  
“Sounds good, huh, bro?”  
  
Through gritted teeth, Canada forced a squeak of agreement.  
  
“Oh, but, uh, we can’t double date,” America added.  “I think Vietnam’s still mad at me because of that thing...”  
  
“She’s actually doing pretty well now - ” Taiwan said.  
  
“Er, you know what?” Canada said.  “Nevermind.  I’ve got to go.”  
  
He turned to run, but America sidestepped and caught him before he could take off.  Canada looked up and saw nothing but America’s vapid grin.  He felt America’s strong hands holding him in place.  
  
“Come on, Canada,” America said.  “Don’t be such a baby.  Who even remembers the last time _you_ had a date?”  
  
Canada twisted away from his brother’s face, only to see Taiwan looking at him with pity.  Her shining brown eyes were the last thing he saw before tearing away.  
  
“Where ya going?” America shouted.  Canada ignored America.  He ignored the world.  It was all he could do to run as fast and as far as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was burning overhead by the time Canada had run out of breath. He fell against the side of the nearest building. With his hands on his knees, he stared at the ground as he let the sweat pour down his face. Silently, he cursed his brother’s name once more. He forced himself to focus on how angry he was at America, if only to forget how humiliating it was when Taiwan looked at him like that.

“Pathetic,” he panted. “I’ll never be cool enough to beat America... to impress Taiwan... to even get noticed... or remembered... by anyone!”

Canada sniffed. A few teardrops joined the sweat that ran down his face. He let himself collapse against the side of the building and he stared up at the callous blue sky. After some indeterminate amount of time, Canada noticed the sign above the door. It would seem that the building he had fallen against was a bar, and now seemed like as good a time as any to have a drink. Canada wandered indoors. His ears were instantly assaulted by the screeching rumble of two very drunk nations.

“De-e-e-e-en!”

“Wha’d’ja wan’?”

“Wanna see me do a trick?”

An unintelligible exchange occurred between the two nations. One of them, Canada recognized as Denmark. He was wearing his usual uniform, although the hat had fallen off somewhere and his axe was - thankfully - nowhere to be seen. The other nation was someone Canada had never met before. This nation had white-blond hair and red eyes; Canada did a double take to be sure. Could it be? This nation, his sharp blue uniform now disheveled, might very well be -

“The former nation of Prussia?” 

Canada had spoken aloud without realizing it. Prussia’s ears perked up at the mention of his own name. He glared at Canada with the aimless glassy stare that one can only do when severely inebriated. Muttering an apology, Canada began to back away.

“Former?” said Prussia. “Who are you calling ‘former”?”

“Oh, um... I’m really sorry if I offended- ”

“Den!” 

Just like that, Prussia’s attention flew from Canada to Denmark. Denmark grunted in response.

“Wanna see me do the trick?”

“Only if you’re buying,” Denmark replied.

“No fair.”

“What do you mean, ‘no fair’? I got the last round.”

“It’s not a round,” Prussia argued. “There’s only two of us. And I need beer to do this trick, and you know I’m broke.”

Canada stepped forward.

“I’ll buy you a beer, Prussia.”

Instantly, a grin spread across Prussia’s face. He staggered over toward Canada and patted him on the back.

“You know, Denmark? I really like this guy!”

Canada beamed, even though deep down he knew it was only the offer of free beer that had garnered Prussia’s approval. As Canada dropped his money in the bartender’s hand, Prussia retrieved a recently emptied beer stein from where he had been seated.

“Watch this... What’s-yer-name...”

“I’m Canadia - I mean... Canada.”

Prussia nodded and smiled. “Right. Canada. Cool.”

Backing towards the bar, Prussia held the empty beer stein out in front of him. With his free hand, he patted at the air behind him, to get a sense of where the bar stool was. Canada watched as Prussia pulled himself up to sit on top of the bar. After slipping a few times, Prussia steadied himself atop his perch and leaned back. 

Denmark stood beside Canada and assured him that whatever they were about to see would be cool. So far, all it looked like was Prussia sitting around with an empty stein poised over his head. The bartender arrived with a fresh stein of beer. He handed it to Prussia and muttered a warning about behaving himself this time. Looking back at the other nations, Prussia winked. Canada couldn’t help but smile in earnest at the notion of Prussia winking directly at him. It was so nice to be noticed.

At that moment, Prussia leaned further back and held the full stein above the empty one, which in turn he held about his head. He tipped his head back, opened his mouth, and poured the beer from the full stein into the empty one. As soon as this was done, Prussia held out his hand and accepted yet another beer from the bartender. He poured this one in the same fashion, causing the stein to overflow into his mouth. When both steins were drained, Prussia tipped himself back up to a sitting position, and then slid from atop the bar. Shiny leather boots hit the ground, and Prussia flung himself forward into a sloppy bow.

“Ta daaa!”

“That was... interesting,” Canada said politely.

“I call it the double-beer waterfall,” Prussia said, smirking in self-satisfaction. “I can keep that going for probably eight beers. Maybe ten. But I’m a little short on cash now.”

Prussia looked up, looking Canada directly in the eye. “Maybe we’ll try it with ten beers another time, eh, Canada?”

A gleeful smile spread across Canada’s face. At long last, someone had remembered his name. Even in his drunken state, Prussia had said it correctly - and not only that, but he was using Canada’s name to invite him somewhere. Poor Canada wasn’t used to be included, or even remembered, and he hardly knew how to respond.

“That’s... so... ” Canada was at a loss for words.

“So awesome?” Prussia said. He leaned back against the bar and signalled for the bartender to get him yet another beer. “Well, what did you expect from The Awesome Me?”

Canada beamed, letting the glittery feeling of genuine happiness wash over him. He was getting attention from another nation - and not just any nation. Prussia was a nation who was legendary for his daring and confidence. What a nation like Prussia would want with a nation like himself, Canada couldn’t be sure. In that moment, he didn’t care. He saw the opportunity that lay before him and he jumped at the chance.

“Um, Prussia?”

“Yeah, Canada?”

“Could you... could you please teach me how to be awesome?”


	3. Chapter 3

Prussia charged down the street, high on enthusiasm and drunk on beer. It was a struggle for Canada to keep up with him. Every time Prussia staggered, Canada tried to anticipate where he was walking, and eventually he found it easier just to give up and lag behind.

“Oh, no,” said Prussia. “Never do that.”

“Do what?”

“Walk behind.”

Prussia stopped in his tracks, allowing Canada to catch up. As soon as Canada was at Prussia’s side, Prussia let himself lean on him a little.

“You’ve got to walk with confidence. Know where you’re going and march there like the sidewalk belongs to only you.”

“But, Prussia,” said Canada, squirming under Prussia’s weight. “I don’t know where you’re going.”

“Then just stand,” said Prussia. “But do it with confidence.”

They paused. Canada obliged, or at least, he thought he did.

“Not like that,” said Prussia. “Keep your head up, shoulders back - you should have enough room between your neck and your shoulders for a bird to land on you.”

Prussia demonstrated, seemingly fending off the alcohol long enough to display perfect posture for a moment. A little yellow bird fluttered out of the sky and perched atop his shoulder.

“See?” said Prussia. “Gilbird knows I’m awesome.”

Canada smiled, although his smile quickly faded at the thought of Kuma.... Kuma-jiffy pouncing on him. The two nations resumed walking, and this time, Canada was careful to copy Prussia’s movements. He found himself walking taller although he wasn’t sure why. Part of his efforts were salient, but he was also much happier anyway to be spending time with his new friend. The two crossed the street and found themselves in a different neighbourhood.

“Next, I’m going to teach you how to approach people - the Awesome way!”

Canada nodded. He noticed another nation walking up the street towards them. As that nation drew nearer, Canada recognized him as France.

“Watch closely, Canada, and see how the master does it.” 

As Prussia and France neared each other, Prussia raised his hand. As though it were second-nature, Prussia and France’s hands met and met again, performing a perfect windmill high five.

“Oh, wow,” said Canada.

A few dozen steps ahead was an outdoor fruit shop. Canada knew it well, and tended to go there first thing in the morning when there weren’t too many other nations around. However, it was rather busy at that point, at least by Canada’s definition. Poring over the produce were Turkey and Monaco.

“Good to see you!” shouted Prussia as he and Canada walked past. “I bet it’s good to see me.” 

Looking back, Canada saw Turkey grinning and shaking his head knowingly. Canada had to look carefully, because he thought he even saw the no-nonsense Monaco crack a smile. Turning his attention back to his new friend, Canada laughed.

“This is great, eh, Prussia? I feel like I’m learning so much.”

“Sure,” said Prussia. “But... I’m just curious. I mean, obviously, everyone wants to be awesome like I am, but why would you ask - ”

Prussia stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. Chuckling, he regained his balance.

“I, uh, I guess I’m still a little drunk. Maybe we should go somewhere I can crash.”

“Oh, sure.”

Prussia and Canada wandered from the main street down a smaller street that was paved with cobblestones. It was quieter there, away from the busy main street.

“Well, um, in answer to your question...” Canada began. However, he didn’t know how to finish. Canada desperately wanted to be acknowledged and respected like America. Heck, like all the other nations. Of course, to admit that that wasn’t the case already would be far too embarrassing. Canada decided to attack the problem by starting with one of the symptoms.

“I need help impressing a girl,” he said at long last. In a blazing show of irony, his statement had gone unheard. Prussia marched along, still rather drunk, and Canada wondered if it was worth repeating his message. The two rounded a corner, and a house came into view. Canada recognized it by its similarity to the house he shared with America; both houses were wide and suburban-looking. However, whereas his own house had aluminum siding and windows that slid open, this house bore wooden trusses and windows with shutters that gave it an overall quaint look.

“This is Germany’s house, isn’t it?” asked Canada.

“Huh?”

“I said, isn’t this Germany’s house?!”

“No,” said Prussia, “it’s MY house. Although Germany lives here too, I guess.”

Canada nodded.

“Oh, and here’s another awesomeness lesson for you, Canada. Speak up. You’re so quiet it’s hard to hear you.”

“Okay,” Canada said quietly.

“Come on, Canada,” said Prussia. “Shout out what you have to say like it’s the most important thing in the world.”

Canada smiled and drew a deep breath.

“Will do!”

“Awesome.”

The two arrived at the front door. Prussia grabbed the door handle and twisted it. Then he twisted it again. Then he grabbed the handle with both hands and shook it back and forth.

“Uh, hang on,” Prussia said, patting himself down in search of his keys. “This isn’t part of the awesomeness training.” 

At long last, Prussia sighed in defeat.

“Hey, West!”

With both fists, Prussia pounded at the door.

“West! West! West? Hey, West! Open up!”

After a short but awkward length of time, the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was a tall and muscular man with a stern expression on his face.

“You had better have a good reason for this, brother,” Germany said. “You’re late for training.”

“I’m leading some training of my own today,” Prussia said. He stepped aside so that Germany could see Canada. Canada smiled politely, and the two exchanged nods of salutation. Prussia grabbed Canada by the arm and led him into the house.

“You can keep your push-ups and track training for today, West. I’m teaching Canada here how to be awesome!”


	4. Chapter 4

Germany’s house was warm, inviting, and spotlessly clean. Prussia led Canada past several lovely-looking rooms and stopped in front of an unusually heavy door. Normally, such a door would be used for an external side door or an exit to a garage. It was strange to see a door like this inside a house.

“Here we are,” said Prussia. “My awesome home.”

With a sweeping gesture, Prussia pulled the door open, revealing a set of cement stairs that led down into blackness. He plodded down the steps, waggling his fingers at Canada to signal him to follow. Canada paused at the top of the stairs. He wondered if Prussia was serious. Soon, a light flickered on from somewhere downstairs, reminding Canada that Prussia was waiting for him. He hurried down the stairs and soon found himself in a large and dark expanse of space.

“Just give me a minute,” said Prussia. Prussia traipsed around the room, tugging on the pull lights and slowly illuminating the space. There must have been about ten or twelve bare lightbulbs, hanging from the ceiling like glowing bats. Canada felt that that added a certain level of coziness to this otherwise unforgiving space. The cement floor was hard under his feet. Although the enveloping coldness was nice this summer afternoon, Canada was sure it was terrible in the winter. As the final lights turned on, Canada noticed more detail about the room. A myriad of carpets lay on the floor, mismatched and seemingly positioned only to keep the cold at bay. On one wall hung a giant Prussian flag, which looked so formal it seemed out of place when juxtaposed with the decorations of the adjacent wall. That wall was covered in posters of rock stars, one of which, Canada realized, was Prussia himself. Amidst the posters were photographs of Prussia and his friends. Most of the pictures contained Prussia posing with France, Spain, or both. There was one picture of Prussia with his arm around Hungary, and to Hungary’s other side stood another nation. This nation wore a fancy blue coat and a white cravat, but Canada couldn’t tell who it was because a sticker of a yellow bird obscured the nation’s face. 

There was not much in the room itself. Save for a futon, a TV, and a coffee table that was covered in empty beer bottles and ramen cups, the place was basically empty. With one sweep of his arm, Prussia cleared the coffee table. Then he kicked discarded pieces of laundry into one corner of the room. Finally, Prussia wandered over to the open birdcage in the corner, replenished the food and water within, and tapped on door. A rustling could be heard from somewhere overhead. Soon enough, Gilbird appeared. The little yellow bird fluttered into his cage long enough to peck at a sunflower seed, and then left. The discarded shell fell to the floor.

“Is that any way to behave?” Prussia demanded.

Unimpressed, Gilbird perched atop the television set and fell asleep. Canada couldn’t help but smile at the thought of how similarly awkward it was for him to have guests over. Try as he might, Canada still couldn’t train the rude behaviour out of Kuma... Kuma-gyrocopter. 

“You give them an inch...” said Prussia.

“They’ll walk all over you,” Canada said with a nod. The two sat back on the makeshift couch that was the futon. Both were silent, save for the occasional comment from Prussia reiterating his drunkenness. Canada took the opportunity to practice being comfortable with silence. However, the silence soon ended.

“So, what do you want to learn next from The Awesome Me?”

Canada thought. He wanted to be noticed and remembered. He wanted to feel important. Accepted. Loved.

Love. There was a nice transition.

“Well,” said Canada. “I sure could use some help getting the attention of this one girl...”

“Gotcha,” said Prussia. He lazily snapped his fingers. “Wooing the ladies happens to be one of my many areas of expertise. So who are we talking about? Is it Liechtenstein?”

“No,” said Canada.

“Belgium?”

“Nope.”

Prussia straightened up. He laughed wickedly and cupped his hands over his chest, indicating impossibly large breasts.

“I know who it is.”

“It’s not Ukraine,” Canada said. He smiled sheepishly and stared at his hands. “It’s... it’s Taiwan.”

“Nice,” said Prussia, nodding. 

“Only, there’s a problem. She and my brother are...”

Canada couldn’t bring himself to say it. At about that moment, both he and Prussia took note of the delicate earthy perfume wafting from upstairs.

“Coffee!” said Prussia. “That’ll help sober me up. You want some coffee? I’m going to get some coffee.”


	5. Chapter 5

The two nations rocketed up the stairs and soon found themselves in the kitchen. The lovely scent of coffee filled the air. It was accompanied by the happy sounds of friendly conversation and coffee bubbling as it brewed. With a shy smile, Canada nodded politely toward the three nations who were seated around the kitchen table. Austria returned the gesture, but as soon as he took note of Prussia’s presence, he scoffed and excused himself from the room. Once Austria was gone, Prussia folded his arms and smiled smugly.

“Is he okay?” asked Canada, gesturing toward the door through which Austria had just exited.

“Yes, he’s fine,” said a voice from behind the sports section of a newspaper. “He’s just being a baby.” Peeking up from behind the newspaper was a head of brown hair, decorated with a flower. The third nation at the table, Germany, gestured for Canada to take Austria’s old seat. Canada did so, and Prussia plunked down in the chair beside him. At that moment, Hungary folded up the newspaper and set it aside.

“So, Canada,” she said, “what brings you to our neighbourhood?”

Canada did not know how to answer. Fortunately, Prussia did that for him.

“I’m teaching Canada here how to be awesome.”

Hungary stared at Prussia. Biting her lip, she made a sound like a balloon letting out all of its air. Then she burst into giggles. Prussia glared at her.

“Why is that funny?”

“That’s adorable, Prussia,” Hungary gasped between bouts of laughter.

“Why? I’m helping Canada impress a girl because... because I’m so good at impressing girls.”

By that point, Hungary was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her cheeks. She slapped the table as if begging for mercy. Looking to his brother for sympathy, Prussia received none. A chime sounded, and Germany silently got up to get the coffee.

“Oh, come on,” said Prussia. “I bring chicks back here all the time.”

“If... if by...” Hungary took a few deep breaths. At last, her laughter subsided. “If by ‘chicks,’ you mean Gilbird and his friends, then perhaps. Otherwise, no.”

Prussia leaned back in his chair and glared at Hungary defiantly. He hardly noticed as Germany returned with a tray of four cups of coffee. However, the coffee was a welcome sight indeed, and Prussia did not waste time in helping himself to a cup. His brother glared at him.

“It’s protocol to serve the guest first, dummkopf.”

“Huh? Oh, right.”

Prussia grabbed an additional cup off the tray and slid it in Canada’s direction. Scrambling to catch it, Canada grasped at the cup, feeling rather panicky at the thought of letting it fall off the table and shatter. Once it was safely in his hands, he stared into the earthy blackness and saw no reflection.

“Sorry, Prussia, this might sound strange but... could you please do that again?”

He handed the cup back to Prussia, who paused for a moment. Prussia slid the cup along the table once more, and this time, Canada coolly plucked the cup off its path by the handle. As though it were part of a follow-through, Canada let his other hand stir in a spoonful of sugar. The whole act felt graceful, as if set to music. It felt... awesome. Canada peered into the depths of the coffee, and saw his own face smiling back at him.

“I hope you two are done playing,” said Germany.

“Oh, gee, I’m sorry about that, eh?”

“Just loosen up, West. It’s fine.”

The four nations became quiet for a moment to savour their coffee. The silence was soon broken, though, as Hungary began to shake with laughter.

“That’s right, Germany,” she said, chuckling. “Prussia needs to do that if he’s going to teach Canada how to pick up women.”

Prussia slammed his cup down on the table.

“Why is this funny to you?”

“Oh, please!” she said. “When was the last time there was a woman in this house?”

Canada blinked. His eyes jumped from the flower in Hungary’s hair to the rounded smoothness of her face and travelled along her obviously feminine body.

“But, Hungary?” he said. “Aren’t you a -”

At that moment, Canada felt Germany’s hand clap down hard on his shoulder.

“Don’t,” Germany whispered. Confused, Canada looked to Prussia for more information. Prussia only shook his head.

“She doesn’t know,” he whispered, “and we don’t know how to tell her.”

“But... but... doesn’t she -”

“It’s complicated.”

Soon, the coffee was gone. Prussia and Canada got up from the table. Canada looked to Prussia to find out what was next, but Prussia appeared to be focusing on an unspoken thought.

“Hungary,” Prussia said at long last. “How about you help Canada by being his practice date?”

“What? Why me?”

“It’s not for real,” said Prussia. “But The Awesome Me has crafted an awesome plan for Canada to practice asking someone out on a date. So, you come to the basement, and Canada will ‘accidentally’ run into you and ask you out. We can even practice the date itself.”

Looking at Canada with a sympathetic smile, Hungary shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Canada,” she said, “but I’m busy all afternoon. I’m sure you’ll do fine without a practice date. You’re such a sweetheart.”

“I... really?” said Canada. “You think so?”

“Oh, come on, Hungary,” Prussia said. “Can’t you just do me this one little favour?”

Instantly, Hungary’s expression changed from sympathy to standoffishness. 

“In any case, I wouldn’t be doing it to help you, Prussia.”

“Come on!” Prussia implored. “Just a favour. One nation to another.”

“You’re not a nat - ”

Hungary stopped herself. She looked away for a moment, but Canada could tell by the look on Prussia’s face that the damage was already done.

“Anyway...” Hungary said, staring at the floor.

“Yeah,” Prussia said sharply. “Let’s go, Canada.”

Running on autopilot, Canada followed Prussia back down the basement steps. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw an expression on Prussia’s face that he’d never seen on anyone before. At least, not on anyone besides his own self. Such an expression implied feelings that Canada couldn’t name, but he knew them all too well.


	6. Chapter 6

Soon, the two were back in the relative security of the basement.  Canada observed Prussia once more, although, by now, everything seemed to have gone back to normal.  Before Canada could figure out if there was something he should say, Prussia took the lead.  
  
“Time for more training,” he said.  “Pretend I’m Taiwan.”  
  
Prussia crossed to the far side of the basement and struck a pose.  He shifted his weight onto one leg and rested his hand on his hip.  Tossing his hair, he turned to face Canada.  Canada clapped his hands over his face in embarrassment.    
  
“Yoo-hoo!” Prussia called through pouty lips.  
  
“Taiwan doesn’t act like that.”  
  
Prussia dropped his pose.  
  
“Well, what did you want me to do?”  
  
“Just be normal.”  
  
“Okay,” said Prussia.  “I’ll try to take it down to normal levels of awesome.”  
  
Canada smiled as he watched Prussia be awesome for his benefit.  In that moment, there was nothing that could have made Canada happier than to see Prussia’s wicked grin return.  The confident posture, the raspy voice, the exquisitely messy hair - everything seemed picture perfect.  
  
“What are you waiting for?” Prussia asked.  Canada took a deep breath, reminding himself that this was just for practice.  He closed his eyes for a moment and pictured Taiwan standing there in Prussia’s place.  Then he approached.  When he was a few steps away from Prussia, he stopped, as if suddenly noticing he was there.  
  
“Oh, hi there, Taiwan.”  
  
“Hello, Canada.”  
  
As confidently as he could, he looked Prussia in the eyes.  For a reason he couldn’t be sure of, he began to feel terribly nervous.  Once again, he reminded himself it was just practice, and Taiwan wasn’t really there, but that somehow made the feeling worse.  
  
“I was thinking, if you’re not busy today, maybe we could...”   
  
Canada froze, and immediately sat down on the floor.  
  
“I’m sorry, Prussia.  I can’t do this.”  
  
Prussia stood over Canada, staring down with his hands on his hips.  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“I’m not sure.”  
  
Letting himself drop to the floor, Prussia sat beside Canada.  He muttered something to himself about it being too much awesome for one day.  
  
“We can take a break if you need to,” he said.  
  
Canada nodded.  Prussia dragged himself along the floor until he was halfway on the futon.  Letting his head rest against the edge of the cushion, he shut his eyes.  
  
“That coffee didn’t sober me up as well as I thought it would,” he said.  “I shouldn’t be this drunk off of only seventeen beers.  Maybe I’m tired.”  
  
Making some comment in agreement, Canada slid over toward Prussia.  Strangely, although talking to Prussia felt nerve-wracking, being close to him was a comfort.  Canada sat down just in front of the futon, next to where Prussia was resting.  His white-blond hair was so close to Canada’s hand and the moment was so peaceful that Canada had to repeatedly remind himself not to pet him.  Canada told himself that he was subconsciously thinking of Kuma-giraffe, but really, he was quite sure where the compulsion came from.  At that point, he didn’t even care what he was feeling or what it meant.  All that mattered was the moment.  
  
Canada watched Prussia resting.  He patiently waited for him to wake up so they could get on with their... with their date.   _Practice_ date.  Or something like that.  
  
After what felt like far too short a time, the peaceful silence was interrupted by footsteps coming down the cement stairs.  Hungary leaned around the corner.  
  
“Hey, Prussia, have you seen my - ”  
  
Canada looked up and gestured that Prussia was sleeping.  Rather than dropping her voice to a whisper, Hungary just got louder.  A devious sparkle lit up her eyes as she clapped her hands together and squee’d.    
  
“Oh, woooow!” she said.  “You two make such a cute couple!”  
  
“Couple?” said Canada.  
  
“Couple?!” said Prussia, who clumsily awakened just in time to stumble and trip over Canada.  Knocked off balance by Prussia’s sudden movement, Canada fell back along the futon.  Prussia landed on top of him, and as they struggled to get up, the two became ever more entangled.  
  
Hungary watched, her eyes gleaming.  Absent-mindedly, she rubbed at her nose.  When she pulled her hand away, she saw a streak of blood along her finger.  
  
“Not again,” she sighed, pinching her nose and running from the room.    
  
“You two stay right there,” she said as she hurried up the stairs.  “Don’t do anything sexy without me.”  
  
Left alone once more, Canada and Prussia stared at one another.  
  
“Prussia?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I think that was enough awesome for one day.”


	7. Chapter 7

Day Two of awesomeness training began bright and early.  Canada had been awakened before dawn because Kuma-journalism was making a racket.  The white bear had tried to make himself a snack in the wee hours of the morning, and had caused all the pots and pans to fall out of the cabinet and across the kitchen floor.  Not only did Canada wake up much sooner than he’d wanted to, but the first task of the day for him was to tidy up.  He didn’t bother to reprimand his pet, because he knew his words would go unheard.  Besides, it was hard enough to remember the name of that Kuma... Kuma... Kuma-jazzy.  
  
After a frustrating morning involving a shortage of toothpaste, a shower drain clogged with white fur, and an ill-placed leather bomber jacket with a “50” on the back, Canada stumbled out the front door.  He was surprised to see that Prussia was outside his house, waiting for him.  
  
“Prussia?” Canada asked.  “How long were you here?”  
  
Prussia only shrugged and waved hello.  Canada shook his head.  
  
“Call me next time, eh?  I had no idea you were waiting.”  
  
“I figured I’d get an early start,” Prussia said.  “I thought I saw you leaving your house earlier, but it turned out to be your brother.”  
  
Canada blinked in surprise.  He thought back to the note he’d found on the kitchen counter the night before.  
  
*******  
 _Hey, bro!  
  
I’m going jogging with China at the crack of dawn tomorrow, so don’t bother making breakfast for me!  See ya!  
  
~Hero_  
*******  
  
“Prussia...” Canada said.  “You weren’t waiting out here all night, were you?”  
  
“No.”  
  
“What about Germany and the others?  Won’t they wonder where - ”  
  
“Forget them,” Prussia said with a wave of his hand.  “Let’s go do some training.”  
  
The two made their way into town with a confident step.  Canada noticed he felt happier when Prussia was around.  Despite his lack of sleep, he felt energized to have plans.  The whole way, Prussia was explaining something to him about how to project his voice when speaking or something like that, but really, Canada had somewhat tuned out.  He was watching the way Prussia’s ruby-red eyes lit up when he spoke passionately about a topic.  It was nothing short of a magical feeling to have Prussia’s undivided attention.  Canada wished that their walk could go on forever.  It would be so much fun - just the two of them and no other distractions.  
  
The two nations circled around, not really going anywhere in particular.  It was as though Canada’s wish was being granted.  Prussia didn’t seem to be in a hurry, and he tended to avoid the areas of town that were likely to be busy.  It was like he was content to have Canada and Canada alone as his audience.  After some amount of time, Prussia looked at his watch.  
  
“When the bar opens,” he said, “I’ll teach you how to do the beer waterfall.”  
  
Canada nodded, and Prussia smiled in return.  
  
“It won’t be long now, seeing as it’s almost noon.”  
  
“It’s what?”  
  
Canada looked at his own watch, and saw that many hours had indeed elapsed.  
  
“Wow.  I guess time really flies when I’m with The Awesome You, eh, Prussia?”  
  
Unexpectedly, Prussia paused.  For one fleeting second, he looked at the ground and laughed quietly.  An embarrassed smile crept across his face.  Canada had never seen Prussia compose himself in such a way.  Making a quick recovery, Prussia patted Canada on the back and heartily agreed.  Canada began to consider exactly what he had just witnessed, but his concentration was quickly broken when he noticed a familiar dark-haired girl in a pink dress.  
  
Taiwan, looking as lovely as ever, was seated at an umbrella-shaded table on a coffee-shop patio.  She was alone, alternately admiring the surrounding flowers and fiddling with her cell phone.  Prussia leaned in close enough to whisper into Canada’s ear.  
  
“This looks like a good chance to test out your training.”  
  
Canada hadn’t heard a word.  All he could focus on was the inexplicable exhilaration he felt with Prussia’s skin so close to his own.  That now-familiar raspy voice tickled Canada’s ears.  He froze in place.  
  
“Canada,” said Prussia.  “What are you waiting for?”  
  
Prussia gave Canada a push, forcing him to take a few steps forward.  However, he stopped the momentum, frozen in place and reflecting on how nice Prussia smelled.  
  
“Just go talk to her like how I would talk to her,” Prussia said, backing away.  “Sweep her off her feet.”  
  
Without thinking, Canada began to follow Prussia as he left.  Three steps in, he tripped over his own feet and stumbled back towards Taiwan.  Canada had to talk to himself aloud to remind himself what he was doing.  When he reached the edge of the coffee shop patio, Taiwan looked up from her phone.  She gave Canada a friendly wave, which Canada returned as he approached.  
  
“Hi, there, Taiwan,” Canada said.  He let himself fall into the chair opposite Taiwan, trying to emulate Prussia’s casual confidence.  Even though he felt like a deflated balloon, and he was just lucky the chair had been there to catch him, he quickly regrouped.  He let himself straighten up enough to let an imaginary Gilbird land on his shoulder, and he looked Taiwan straight in the eye, just like Prussia would.  Everything was going great, except for the fact that Canada had to continually remind himself not to think of Prussia the whole time.  Awesomeness training had been a double-edged sword.  
  
Canada and Taiwan talked briefly about the weather, the song that was quietly playing on the patio’s radio, and cute dog that Liechtenstein had just led by on a leash.  Then, there was a lull in the conversation.  Canada seized the moment.  
  
“There’s that new movie opening this weekend,” he said.  “Do you want to go see it with me?”  
  
Taiwan sat back in her chair and considered this.  
  
“Sounds like fun,” she said.  “Who else should we invite?”  
  
Canada felt as though a dark cloud had fallen over him.  He wished he could vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. What an un-awesome thought.  Prussia would never respond to a setback in such a way.  No.  Prussia would make it really, really clear what he was doing.  
  
“Um, actually...” said Canada.  His voice came out quietly this time, and he had to clear his throat to get his awesomeness back.  “Actually, I was thinking that it should just be the two of - ”  
  
Without warning, Canada found himself on the patio’s stone floor.  Something big and heavy had shoved him aside.  He looked up.  Towering overhead was a figure in brown.  Canada’s eyes were still coming back into focus, but he’d recognize the figure’s voice anywhere.  
  
“I’m ba-a-a-ack,” said a high-pitched, energetic voice that was unmistakably America’s.  “Mango smoothie for you and a chocolate milkshake for me.  Hey... am I sitting on something?”   
  
Grinding his teeth, Canada growled inwardly.  All that courage was for nothing.  No.  No, it couldn’t be.  The Awesome Prussia would never admit defeat.  Using the edge of the table to pull himself back up, Canada rose to his feet and let himself stand over his brother.  
  
“Yes, America,” said Canada.  “You were sitting on me.”  He glared at his brother, letting the fire in his eyes burn through America’s thick skull.  America only blinked and give Canada a friendly smile.  
  
“Hey, bro,” said America.  “I’m kinda in the middle of a date right now, but if you want to whine at me later about something, I’ll see you at home.”  
  
“Wha?”  
  
Canada looked back at Taiwan.  She was staring awkwardly at the two brothers, fidgeting with the straw in her drink but never looking away.  Such was Canada’s luck.  He finally took the opportunity to ask Taiwan on a date, and it happened to be in the middle of a date she was already on.  Confidence was important, sure, but some things were downright inappropriate.  
  
“Well...” Canada said.  “I guess... I guess I’ll be leaving now, eh?”  
  
Unable to think of a cooler exit, he ran like lightning until he was out of sight.  Eyes closed, Canada did all he could to shed the awkwardness that plagued him.  He continued running until he crashed into someone.  Stumbling backward, he stammered a string of apologies.  
  
“Canada, it’s me,” said Prussia.  
  
“Oh... hi.”  
  
“I figured I’d wait a few buildings over so you two could be alone.  So, how’d it go?  Did she say yes?  I bet she said yes.”  
  
Canada slumped over and explained what had happened.  Prussia seemed unfazed.  
  
“That’s not a rejection,” he said.  “Of course, that’s also no reason to run away.‘  
  
“But, Prussia,” said Canada.  “She was already on a date - with my brother!  That is a bad time to ask.”  
  
Canada felt Prussia’s gaze trace him up and down.  To be analyzed in such a way felt both comforting and embarrassing at the same time.  
  
“Look how you responded, though,” Prussia said.  “Clearly, we need more awesomeness training.”  
  
“Oh, no,” Canada said with a sigh.  “I can’t put myself through that again.”  
  
“It’s not like she’s America’s girlfriend,” Prussia argued.  “They’re on one little date.  That doesn’t mean anything.  You want to make her your girlfriend, right?”  
  
Canada felt like he should reply, “right,” but somehow, he couldn’t.  The stress of the recent encounter was too much, and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to be with Taiwan that badly.  He didn’t want to be with anybody, really, because deep down, he knew no one would ever get to know his true self.  His own brother didn’t bother to recognize him, for heaven’s sake.  The only person in the world who Canada felt he could open up to was already standing right in front of him.  Canada looked into Prussia’s eyes for a moment and felt frustrated tears stinging behind his own.  He let himself fall forward as Prussia caught him in a hug.  The two nations held each other silently.  
  
“Yeah,” Prussia said at long last.  “We definitely need more training.”  
  
“Mm-hm.”  
  
“Let’s go back to my house and have another date.  A _practice_ date.”  
  
“Thank you so much for wanting to help me,” Canada said softly.  “You really are an awesome nation.”  
  
Prussia hugged Canada tighter.


	8. Chapter 8

Back in the shelter of the basement, Canada began to feel stronger.  He and Prussia rearranged the room’s sparse furnishings to resemble a sort of restaurant setting.  Then they made their way to the edge of the staircase and pretended they were entering for the first time.  As they walked toward Prussia’s coffee table, Canada figured he should say something.  He couldn’t think of a word to say, though.  The awkwardness of practicing with Prussia was gone, but it was still hard for him to imagine his dear friend as a stand-in for anyone else.  Sensing that Canada was struggling, Prussia started the conversation for him.  
  
“So, Canada,” he said in a lilting falsetto.  “What’s your favourite thing to do on the weekend?”  
  
“Um... I guess I like... Wait.”  Canada stopped in his tracks.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Can you please talk in your normal voice?”  
  
“Okayyyy,” Prussia said, still using his rather horrible approximation of Taiwan’s voice.  Then, switching back to his natural voice, he asked Canada the question once more.  Canada responded in a bit of a nervous rush.  
  
“Well... on Saturdays I play hockey with the Nordics.  Sundays, I always keep free in case there’s something fun happening... although usually I spend that time alone, just cleaning up.  See, my brother is horrible with - ”  
  
Canada stopped.  He didn’t want to turn things negative.  That was completely not awesome.  
  
“I mean, I’m pretty good at balancing responsibilities with fun stuff, and I always make time for my friends,” he said.  This time, he was also careful to speak slowly and clearly.  “So, Pru - Taiwan.  How about you?”  
  
“I don’t actually know what Taiwan does,” Prussia said, “so you’ll have to pretend.”  
  
“Um... okay.”  
  
“My weekends are, well, a lot like my weekdays.  Sometimes I’ll go into town and hang out with Spain and France, if they’re not busy.  They’re usually busy, though, so I stay home and bother Austria.  But then that gets boring, and I go to the bar to wait for Denmark.  Oh, and I spend a lot of my time taking care of birds.”  
  
Canada was shocked.  The awesome Prussia really wasn’t doing very much with his time.  Judging by his confident demeanor and other nations’ responses to him, Canada had assumed that Prussia’s life was a nonstop party.  Could it really be that he spent his time either alone or ghosting around.  Was his closest companion really a little yellow bird?  That sounded sad, and lonely, and... and terribly familiar.  
  
He thought back to the previous day, about how Prussia’s own family acted around him.  It was something to wonder about, certainly, that Germany’s house was so nice and yet Prussia was relegated to living in the basement.  Canada wanted to ask if he’d chosen to have his own separate space down there or if that decision had been made for him.  
  
It was then that Canada became aware that he had been silent for too long.  He scrambled to think of something positive in Prussia’s words that he could cling to.  
  
“If you and Denmark are going for a beer on Saturday,” he said, “maybe I could come with you.  I mean, because, Denmark and I will be travelling the same way anyway, and - ”  
  
“Yeah,” said Prussia.  
  
“I’m asking you, of course,” Canada said.  “Not figurative Taiwan.”  
  
“Yeah, I know,” said Prussia.  “That’d be cool.”  He gave Canada a smile.  The two then remembered they were on a practice date, and continued making their way toward the table.  When they got there, Canada imitated pulling out Taiwan’s chair for her - which was a little awkward since there were no chairs.  Prussia sat on the floor and waited for Canada to join him.  He gestured to their surroundings.  
  
“Such a lovely place,” Prussia said.  
  
Canada laughed.  Even in a cold, dark basement, Prussia could light up a room.  Such a thought made Canada shake his head.  
  
“Taiwan,” he said carefully.  “You look so nice today.”  
  
Expecting a response - any response - Canada heard only silence.  Prussia stared down at his hands which lay one atop the other.  His pose was frozen, as if he were about to crack his knuckles but stopped a moment before.  The expression on his face was subtle and pensive, although soon he cracked a half-smile.  
  
“Thanks, Canada,” he said softly.  He looked up, met Canada’s eyes, and smiled his usual wicked smile.  “You look awesome too.”  
  
The rest of the date went surprisingly well, and when it was over, Canada offered to walk “Taiwan” home.  Nodding, Prussia grabbed Canada’s hand.  It came as a bit of a surprise to Canada - the warmth of Prussia’s hand, the closing distance between their bodies as they left the table, and most of all, how right it felt.  Canada wasn’t so sure it was because he had convinced himself that Prussia was Taiwan, either.  It was almost as if...  
  
“Well, here’s my house,” Prussia said, gesturing over his shoulder toward the Prussian flag.  Canada was expecting that they’d pace around the basement a few times first to make up for the distance.    
  
“Oh, uh... looks like we’re here already, eh?”  
  
“You got it,” said Prussia.    
  
“So, this is it, eh?”  
  
“Uh-huh.”  Prussia closed his eyes and leaned in for a kiss.  Acting on instinct, Canada found himself mirroring Prussia’s actions.  He kept his eyes open for just a moment to marvel at Prussia’s soft lips.  Then he closed his eyes.  And paused.  
  
He snapped back and shook Prussia’s hand.  
  
“Well, that was a lovely date.  Thank you very much, Taiwan.  I’ll see you later.”  
  
“What’s wrong?”  Prussia asked, visibly flustered.  “Why’d you stop?”  
  
“I think we’re done,” said Canada.  “I mean, I got it to this point, no problem.  That’s all I needed to learn how to do.  So, is that it?  Are we done?”  
  
Canada was angry with the words he was saying.  He was loathe to break the moment, but he didn’t know what else to do.  The whole point of awesomeness training was so he could go on a date with Taiwan, right?  
  
No.  No, it wasn’t.  Deep down, what Canada wanted was more than a date or even a relationship with Taiwan.  All he wanted was to lose the fear.  He wanted never to be too shy again, or to let himself go ignored.  And there was Prussia, the first person to not ignore him.  Canada wanted so strongly to stay there forever that it physically hurt him to pull away.  His heart was racing as he stepped back.  It was all he could do to look Prussia in the eye.  Prussia’s pleading face burnt onto his memory.  
  
“I... I should go,” said Canada.  
  
“Are you sure?” Prussia asked.  “I mean, awesomeness training takes a long time.  We should probably do lots of dates before you go see Taiwan.”  
  
Canada was unable to speak.  He flew from the basement, leaving Prussia alone.


	9. Chapter 9

That night, Canada dreamt of walking forever in a lonely grey forest.  From time to time, he caught fleeting glimpses of lights flickering somewhere in the distance, but they would always fade to darkness before he could chase them.  After what felt like a thousand false starts, Canada fell to his knees and let the cold earth begin to consume him.  He disappeared, as if vanishing into quicksand.  When he was up to his shoulders, a comet blazed over head.  Shocked, Canada leapt to his feet, leaving the hungry earth beneath him.  He ran like lightning after the comet, which seemed to slow down as though it were asking him to pursue it.  As Canada burst out of the woods, the comet morphed into a little yellow bird.  
  
“Excuse me,” said a familiar voice.  Canada opened his eyes.  He startled.  Kuma... Kuma... Kuma-junction was standing over him.  
  
“What is it?” Canada mumbled.  
  
“I need your help, Canadoodly-doo,” said the white bear.  “I poured myself a bowl of cereal but we seem to be out of milk.”    
  
Kuma-jasmine waved his paws in Canada’s face, demonstrating his sharp claws.  
  
“I can’t put a new milk in without piercing the bag, so I need you to do it for me.”  
  
Groaning, Canada pulled himself out of bed.  He put on one of his slippers.  Then he searched around his bedroom floor for the other.  Unable to find it, he traipsed down the stairs.  
  
It was dark in the kitchen.  Canada decided to do his pupils a favour by not turning on the main light.  Instead, he flicked the switch on the light over the stove.  It offered meager lighting; dim enough not to blind the sleepy nation but still bright enough for him to see.  There, in the middle of the kitchen table, was Kuma-jumpy’s abandoned bowl of cereal.  Squinting, Canada opened the fridge.  Just then, Kuma-jungle bounded into the kitchen behind him and flicked on the main light.    
  
“Maple!” Canada squeaked, squeezing his eyes shut.  
  
“What’s wrong, Canopy?” asked Kuma-jostle.  
  
“Hey, alright!” shouted America, who had just appeared in the kitchen doorway.  “Let’s have some midnight cereal!  Yeah!”  
  
America bounced around the kitchen, grabbing a massive bowl and a spoon.  He filled his bowl with cereal and then squeezed in beside Canada at the fridge.  Canada cringed at his brother’s burst of energy interrupting his sleepy introspection.  He wished he could go back to his dream, not really remembering it but feeling that it had tremendous significance.  Unable to think of what he had dreamt about, he busied himself with getting the milk for Kuma-jargon.  He opened the outer bag, retrieved a 1.3 litre bag of milk, and slipped it into the milk pitcher.  Then he turned to get the scissors, and became aware that America was staring at him.  
  
“What is it?”  
  
“Dude...” said America.  “You’ve got some crazy-ass milk technology in your country.”  
  
Canada sighed and snipped the corner off the milk bag.  America gawked for a moment more before retrieving a heavy plastic milk jug from his half of the fridge.  Once America and Kuma-joker were settled in with their cereal, Canada plodded back toward the stairs.  On his way, he heard America turn on the TV, and the overly-cheerful sound of informercials filled the air.  
  
As he turned away to face the stairs, the memory of his dream returned to him.  Canada felt like he was escaping from a lonely forest, and finding... and finding what?  Sighing heavily once more, he made his way up the stairs to his bedroom.  In the middle of his floor, he noticed, was his missing slipper.  He kicked off the one he was already wearing and collapsed back onto his bed.  As he faded, he said a quick prayer that things would work out for him, and also that America wasn’t currently on the phone buying a Snuggie.


	10. Chapter 10

When morning arrived in earnest, Canada opened his eyes feeling calm and lucid.  He hadn’t returned to his dream from earlier, but he felt as though there were some sort of resolution as he slept.  When he opened the front door, ready to greet the day, he was not surprised nor disappointed to see that Prussia was not there waiting for him.  
  
“That’s okay,” Canada told himself.  “Prussia’s taught me well.  I can be awesome on my own.”  
  
He strode down the street, nodding and smiling at other nations as he passed them.  Each and every nation returned a friendly greeting.  When Canada arrived at the fruit shop, he saw that no one else was there.  Rather than feeling relieved, the way his old self did, he was somewhat disappointed that no one was there.  Canada examined a few granny smith apples, wishing for someone to come by so he could be awesome with them.  It was no fun being awesome alone.  When Canada closed his eyes, he remembered the previous day; the electric energy coming off of Prussia’s skin, his lovely cool scent, and his sweet raspy voice.  Canada smiled sadly.  He sidestepped to have a look at the plums and accidentally bumped into someone.  
  
“Sorry about that - are you alright? - Oh...”  
  
Standing in front of him was none other than Taiwan.  
  
“I’m fine, Canada,” she said quietly.  However, something about her seemed to be very not fine.  Without another word, she plucked two bunches of bananas from the fruit stand and compared them.  Canada watched the expression on her face; she seemed to be deep in thought about something troubling.  
  
“Are you sure?” he asked her.  Taiwan sighed.  
  
“I’ll be okay,” she said.  “I’m just tired.”  
  
Canada nodded, encouraging her to say more.  
  
“Yesterday, I went on a date with America.  I was looking forward to it too, since he’s so funny and spontaneous.  The problem is, I didn’t really like him that much as a date.”  
  
“Oh?” Canada said.  He wondered briefly why he wasn’t jumping for joy upon hearing this.  Perhaps it was the sadness in Taiwan’s eyes that outweighed any happiness he would have felt at seeing an open opportunity.  Or, maybe, it was that Canada had changed his mind about Taiwan entirely.  
  
“Yes, well,” Taiwan continued, “He was sort of rude, I thought.  I don’t like when guys are too loud and pushy.  He was excitable - not just energetic, but distracted all the time, like he couldn’t focus on a conversation.  I like America as a friend, but I don’t think I’d want to date him.  Yesterday was quite a disappointment.”  
  
“Disappointments in dating can be tough,” said Canada.  “I should know.”  
  
“I guess I’m upset that I was so wrong about him,” Taiwan mused.  Canada opened his arms for a hug.  Taiwan accepted, and the two embraced for quite some time.  
  
“I feel better now,” said Taiwan.  “Thank you, Canada.  You’re such a good friend.”  
  
Earlier, Canada would have cringed at being labeled as such.  Today, however, he felt at peace with it.  After all, friendship is precious.  His own friendship with Prussia stood as a testament to that.    
  
Prussia.  He was thinking about Prussia again.  
  
Canada and Taiwan finished buying fruit and hugged one more time before going their separate ways.  Canada walked alone, feeling as though the sidewalk under his feet was a river of fluffy clouds.


	11. Chapter 11

Not needing to pay attention to where he was going, Canada let his feet take him to Prussia’s house. He knocked on the door. He hummed to himself as he waited for someone to answer. After a few seconds, the door swung open. Germany was standing in the doorway. He blinked, possibly to acknowledge Canada’s presence. 

“Hello, Germany,” Canada said. “Is Pru -”

“Yes,” Germany said, stepping aside to let Canada in. “He’s in the basement.”

Without another word, Canada made his way over to the basement door. As he journeyed down the stairs, he heard Prussia’s voice. It was odd though - it didn’t sound like Prussia’s tone at all. The raspy sweetness was there, but the voice came out quiet and sorrowful. Canada wondered what was going on. He heard the flow and lull of conversation, and he wondered who Prussia’s guest might be. It couldn’t be Spain - he was out of town. France, maybe? No, Canada had seen France with England on the way over. So, then, who was Prussia’s friend?

Canada reached the bottom of the stairs. He drew a breath to announce his arrival, but his words caught in his throat upon seeing the sight that lay before him. There was Prussia, curled up on the futon with his back to the room. One hand was half-covering his face, rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. The other hand was elevated, acting as a perch for Gilbird. Prussia drew a deep and shuddery breath, and continued talking.

“I can’t, Gilbird. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

He sobbed. Gilbird waited patiently and listened.

“Everyone’s always too busy for me. Everyone ignores me. I’m... I’m not awesome anymore. I haven’t been awesome for a long, long time, and - ”

Once again, he dissolved into tears.

“And I’m tired, Gilbird! I’m tired of being alone and forgotten. I swear to you, no other nation has to deal with this. What am I saying? I’m not even a nation anymore. The world acts like I don’t even exist, and they might as well, because... because for most purposes, I don’t.”

He sniffled. No wonder Canada had found something odd about Prussia’s voice. Prussia was... crying. Canada had never seen him appear so uncertain, so frightened. Canada wondered if he should step forward and say something, but he didn’t want to startle Prussia. Still, he couldn’t help but keep listening.

“Gilbird, my own brother doesn’t even respect me. West owes me, you know. I practically raised him. And I was always nice to everybody, just spreading the joy of my awesome self. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing! All I really have to call my own are my thoughts and memories. Everyone’s left me. No one cares.”

Carefully, Canada ventured deeper into the basement.

“I care,” he whispered. His whisper coincided with a fresh round of Prussia’s sobbing and a gentle tweet of condolence from Gilbird. Neither ex-nation nor bird had noticed Canada was there yet. Canada watched as the tears spilled from Prussia’s eyes. He didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. Instead, he silently backed away and tiptoed up the stairs.


	12. Chapter 12

Canada spent the rest of the morning sitting in his room.  His heart pounded as he repeatedly relived what he had seen in Prussia’s basement.  Could it be?  Did The Awesome Prussia really feel as broken and lonely as Canada did?  Canada wanted to say that it didn’t make any sense, but it made perfect sense to him.  Replaying Prussia’s tearful complaints in his mind once more, Canada felt as though those words might have been his own.  
  
“You know, Kuma-gelatinous, I feel lonely and forgotten too.”  
  
The white bear looked up briefly from the book he was reading, and then looked back down.  
  
“And other nations also treat me like I don’t exist.”  
  
The white bear nodded, not taking his eyes off the page.  
“And my own brother doesn’t respect me either.”  
  
Canada leaned back, only to find more discarded hamburger wrappers and a handgun tossed on his floor.  Scowling, Canada opened his bedroom door and kicked America’s garbage out into the hall.  The hamburger wrappers were heavy with pickles and mayonnaise, and Canada hoped that the gun wasn’t just as loaded.  
  
“But, you know, Kuma-gerbil, I haven’t felt as bad since I met Prussia.  You know why?  Because he was always there for me when I needed him.  So now...”  
  
Canada stood up.  He looked at himself in the mirror, and saw his reflection, clear and tall.  
  
“So now, I’m going to be there for him.”  
  
He checked himself over - keys, wallet, phone - and hurried down the stairs.  
  
“Bye, America,” he called into the house.  “I probably won’t be home in time for dinner.”  
  
“‘Kay, bro,” was the reply.  “More burgers for me.”  
  
Canada raced down the street, feeling happier and more certain than he had ever felt before in his life.  
  
“You’re not alone, Prussia,” he said aloud.  “You’ll never have to be alone again, because - ”  
  
He turned the corner and dashed out onto the main street.  
  
“Because I love you!”  
  
Canada was shouting with pride as he said this, right as he ran past an electronics store where England and France were window shopping.  
  
“Eh?  Did you say something, Angleterre?”  
  
England stopped comparing prices on TV sets and turned to France.  
  
“What?  No, I didn’t say anything at all.”  
  
France waved dismissively.  
  
“Oh, you sly crumpet.  I heard every word.”  
  
“But I didn’t - ”  
  
“I love you too, mon cher.”  
  
And with that, France grabbed England and spun him around, dipping him into a kiss.  A street away, Canada stopped in his tracks as he heard someone yell, “UNHAND ME, YOU WANKER!”  Figuring it was nothing to be concerned about, Canada continued on his way.  As soon as he began to run again, he had to stop short once more.  Someone had just appeared in front of him.  
  
“Hello, Taiwan,” Canada said, slightly out of breath.  
  
“Canada,” said Taiwan.  “I’m glad I found you.”  She brushed a wayward lock of hair back behind her ear.  “I was thinking a lot about you today, and...”  
  
She fidgeted with the lace on her sleeve.  Then she took a deep breath and said, very quickly,   
  
“Canada, do you want to go on a date with me?”  
  
Her eyes squeezed shut, as though she were bracing herself on a roller coaster.  Canada smiled.  
  
“Wow, Taiwan,” he said.  “I’m flattered, really...”  
  
Only forty eight hours earlier, this would have been music to Canada’s ears.  However, a lot had happened in those forty eight hours, and he was certain that things had changed.  It was time to stand up for what he really wanted.  It was time to be Awesome.  
  
“I’m afraid I don’t really think of you that way,” Canada said gently.  “You’re my friend, Taiwan, and that’s important to me.”  
  
Taiwan blushed furiously for a moment.  She covered her face with her billowing sleeves and nodded.  
  
“Yeah,” she said.  “That’s okay.”    
  
She nodded again, and her colour returned to normal.  
  
“At least now I know,” she said, brightening up to her usual sunny smile.  Canada paused.  
  
“You’re okay, right?”  
  
“Uh-huh,” said Taiwan.  “Are we still going to that movie on Sunday?  I asked Vietnam and Thailand and they want to come too.”  
  
“For sure,” said Canada.  “I’ll see if I can bring Cuba.  Anyway, I’m on my way somewhere right now, so I’ll see you later, eh?”  
  
“Okay,” Taiwan said with a smile.  Canada smiled back at her and ran down the street.  He raced along the road made of cobblestones and made a beeline for Prussia’s house.  This time, it was Austria who opened the door.  
  
“Really?” said Austria, looking down his nose at Canada.  “I can’t imagine why you’d want to visit that ruffian, but if you must...”  Austria stepped aside and gestured for Canada to enter the house.  Canada flew down the basement steps.  
  
“Prussia!  Prussia!” Canada shouted.  
  
Canada found Prussia lazing in front of the TV.  There was no trace of his tears remaining, although his face was still haunted by the lethargic look of hopelessness.  Slowly, he turned his head to face Canada.  Canada dove onto the futon beside him.  
  
“Prussia, I know what I need to use my awesomeness training for,” he said breathlessly.  
  
“Yeah?” said Prussia.  “What’s that?”  
  
“You.”  
  
“Me?”  
  
“Yes, you, Prussia.  I want to be awesome with you.”  
  
Prussia blinked, his ruby-red eyes open wide in surprise.  
  
“You do?” he asked.  “Oh, of course, you do.  We are talking about The Awesome Me, after all.”  
  
Canada and Prussia looked deep into one another’s eyes, smiling gratefully and quickly forgetting the rest of the world around them.  They crashed forwards to embrace each other.  There was nothing either of them wanted more as they channelled their passion into a long, sensual kiss.  Then they collapsed on the futon together, each savouring the other’s presence for a time indiscernible.    
  
Eventually, their peaceful silence was interrupted by Hungary’s voice.  
  
“Prussia?” she called as she wandered down the stairs.  “Germany told me you were going to do the grocery shopping today, and that was hours ago - Oh, my goodness.”  
  
Hungary stopped in front of the futon.  Her eyes were like saucers as she stared at Prussia and Canada snuggling together.  Prussia shot a wicked glance her way.  
  
“Hours?” he said smoothly.  “Has it been that long?”  
  
Hungary could only squeak as she pinched her nose.  A steady stream of blood dripped down her fingers.  Squeeing, she flew from the room.  
  
Prussia chuckled to himself as he stroked Canada’s hair.  
  
“Boy, Prussia,” said Canada, “I guess time really flies when it’s The Awesome Us.”  
  
Prussia nodded in agreement.  They kissed again and let the day roll by.


End file.
